Gun test range



Jan. 18, 1949. R. M.-FERGUSON GUN TEST RANGE Filed Feb. 6, 1945 PatentedJan. 18, 1949 umreo P TENT? QFFICE 4 Claims.

(Granted sumler the act of Marchw3, 18-83,; as;

amended ;Ap r-il 30,1928; 370 O. G. 75,7

The invention described herein maybe manufactured 'and:used--by-or'fo'rthe Government for governmental purposes without the :payment to me ofany royaltythereonzw This invention relates to gun test ranges.

A purpose of the inventionisto provideameans for testing machine'gun's;cannoneaccessories' and the like byactual firing= ofthe guns:

A further purpose of theinvention is-to provide a test rangewhichis veryshortin length.

Another purposeof theinvention is to provide a means of stopping *thebullets; '0I1 a short test range'with sa-fety'to the personnel andequipment employed during thetest: I

Otherpurposes "of the invention will become apparent from the followingdescription and drawings;

A preferred embodiment 'of the invention has been illustrated in'thedrawings in which Figure l is a'sectional elevation view of a deviceembodying the invention;

Figure 2 is an-elevational view taken along the line 2'-2 on Figure l. H

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse section, showing the mounting onthepipe 48$ Figure 4 is a sectional view line 4-4 ofFi'gureL, h r

Figure 5-is a horizontal section'onthe =1ine-'55 of Figure 1,but'notshowing=the'con'crete' base, and r Figure dis a plan view'taken'alon'g' the line 5-5 of Figure 1. I y r V Test firing of'automaticweapons such as machine guns andzfl'mm; automatic'cannon may be done onaiull'size range laid out over an area of land or partly over land andpartly-over-water. However, this has disadvantage of'requiring largeisolated"areas-"to-be reserved solely for use in range "firing;forreasons of safety; 7 p

The present invention-provides a range '1 or test firing of this type ofweapon, the range beinghoused'ina relatively' 'small structurei Theinvention' has the advantage of being safe' to use, and of providingmeansf'or' salvaging the metal in fired-bullets;-

Asseenhr the drawings; particularly "Figure-1,

the range includes a'gun'chamb'er-t and a targetchamber 2;- e I r 1 Anautomatic" weapon- 3, such asa machine gun or' a mm: automatic'cannon'or the like, is

mounted on apedestal orfisupportik having a fiat:

A partition wall 1, having a heavy steel front portion 8 and afire-proof and soundproof-back portione 9-, -within chambenqi separatesthe gun taken along the target block or bullet deflecting-and energydissipating member l2; rectangularin cross-section against the fiatface" l3 ofswhichthebullets fired from theweapon 3 impinge. Theblock 1-2is madeof battleship armor and:its dimensions may heap- -proximately 24inches wide, 24? in'ches'isquare", and

16- inches thick. .lts fac'e' ska-makes: an angle 'of about.75 degreeswith'rthe horiiontallin'e of fire and about lfildegrees with theverticalasindicated' in Figure 1, although the anglesof inclination maybe greater if desired; c

It is "desirableto make: the block I2 quite thick and strong so thebullets -striking against it will not move itor' penetrate it.-Battleship" armor, l6 inchesthick, is deemed: preferable for this-use ifavailable, although other armor-plate of'comparable characteristics-maybe used. v

A truncated hollow conical member [4, has its smaller end. l 5'securedto the face"l3 of the block 22 by welding or othersuitabl means; th'e-axis of the member I l-being perpendicular-to the face l3. There is amember l7,-'forming-' the base 'of the cone. I14; the base angles-l6 'ofthe cone-being- 62 degrees in'the preferred embodiment of the invention:shown, the truncated cone-having an outside diameter. of five feet atthe? base 1 1, and narrowing down' to two feet where it joins thetargetl2. Thebase Hand sidesof the cone may be made of armor plate, twoinch'esthick, and any joints are preferably-welded. It is see'n'th'at thetarget5 l2, the frustro-cone l4 and'the' base l1, form a chamber unit whenweldedtogether; and this unit which will be called the cone-target, ismounted on a concrete'base l 8 as shown.

A backstop-l9, formed of bales 'ofpressed steel, is placedbehind'thetarget'IZL against the wall 20,

its' base 22 being supported on -and surrounded by v concrete in theconcrete-'b'ase IB-as'iiIdicatedI A transversely arranged verticalbafile -"zt having a:curved-lower surface toconform to the contour ofthe cone, is secured-toth'lower inside surface ofthe cone l4 spaced 'ashort distance rearward from the b'asefl', as inFigures land 4.

The baiiie- 23 may be made =of2inch*.thick' armoretral edges of anopening 28 formed through the base IT. This opening constitutes abulletreceiving port, the effective clearance in which is defined by theend of the tube 25, which thus confines the path of the entering bulletsto approximately two and a half inches.

The opening 28 is made large enough to serve as an inspection holeforlooking into the interior of the cone-target by removing the tube andflange 21. The inclined fiange 21 which is made of two inch thick armorplate, is removably secured to the cone base I! by means of bolts 29which are threaded into holes in the base l'l. It will be noted that thehole 28 is located a short distance above the center of the cone basell, so that the bullets moving approximately n the axis of the tube willimpinge approximately on the center of the face l3 of the target plateI2.

The tube 25 is made of steel one and one half inches thick, its insidediameter being two and one-half inches. The tube which is about 3 feetlong, is about 40 inches above the floor and its axis is at the sameheight as the axis of the barrel of the gun being fired and as thecenter of the face [3 of the target l2. The flange 26 is removablysecured to the wall 'I by means of bolts 29. A

disk 35 having bolt holes corresponding to those in the flange 29, isfastened over the hole 10 in the wall, the bolts 29 passing through itand nuts threaded overthe ends of the bolts thereby securing the disk 30and the flange 26 to the wall. The disk 30 is provided with a centralopening through which the gun barrel ll protrudes into the tube 25,

Holes 3| in the tube 25 permit gases and dust to escape into chamber 2,the exhaust fans 32 serving to draw the gases into the chamber.Sprinklerheads 33, connected to water pipe 34, are set to operate if thetemperature of the inside of chamber 2 should become too high.

An opening 35, about one-eighth of an inch wide by 12 inches long isformed through the upper wall of the cone M at its narrowest portion bycutting or grinding away part of the cone where it touches the face l3of the target it.

A housing 36, made of steel side walls 37 and top member 38, covers theopening 35 and forms a chamber 39 over it. A pipe 40, connected to thechamber 39 through a hole 4| in the top member 38, leads at its otherend, (not shown), to .a water supply. By causing water to flow in thepipe Ml, a sheet of water will flow through the opening 35 into theinterior of the cone I4 and across the face of the block l2, servingamong other purposes, to cool the surface of the target face l3 andother interior surfaces, and to flush away debris.

To allow water and debris to leave the cone, an outlet opening 42 isformed through the wall of the cone M, and the opening leads to a cleanout'chamber or waste bin 43 through a waste pipe or chute 44 set orformed in the concrete base 18. An inclined ramp 46 allows access to thewaste bin 43 for cleaning it out. A door l'i made of steel and arranged'for vertical movement in guides 48, serves for opening or closing thebin 43 as desired. A counterweight 49, connected to the door 41 by meansof a cable 50 passing over sheaves serves to counterbalance the weightofthe door 41 to facilitate its movement. A drain 6'! is provided to drainwater from the bin.

The outer surfaces of the cone I4 and base A fan 52 is provided in thewall of gun chamber I to ventilate the chamber. The external walls,floor and ceiling of the two chambers I and 2 are strongly made ofconcrete, the construction of wall I having already been described.

In order to accommodate different size guns 3, the table top is providedwith means for elevating and lowering it. 'As indicated in Figures 1 and6, there are four vertical brackets 53 bolted to the floor by means ofbolts or lug screws 54. Each bracket 53 has a vertical guide portion 55which is L-shaped, the four guide portions being thus arranged at thefour corners of the table top 5 and serving to guide it and preventhorizontal movement of the table top as it moves vertically between theguide portions.

H are coated with a suitable material. to minimize noise and vibration.I

The four legs 6 are each pivotally connected at their upper ends to lugs55 projecting down from the tabletop 5, and are each pivotally connectedat their lower ends to couplings 51, 58, 59 and 5! which in turn arethreaded onto horizontal rods 61 and 62 which pass through holes in thebrackets 53 asshown. The threaded portions of rods 5! and 62 engagingcouplings 5i and 59 are provided with right hand threads, while theportions'of the rods engaging couplings 53 and 30 have-left handthreads, Cranks 53 and (54 are attached to rods 5! and 62 as shown, andthe. rods also have removable stops 65 secured to them to preventlongitudinal movement of the rods. It is thus apparent that turning thecranks 53 andfi l in one direction elevates the table top by bringingthe lower portions of the, legs, 6 closer together, While turning thecranks in the opposite direction separates the legs and thus lowers thetable top. p

The table top 5 is provided with upwardly projecting lugs 55 havingtransverse holes for fastening the gun 3 to the table top. In installinga gun for test firing, the barrel it of the gun is first inserted intothe central opening in the disk 35 so it projects into the tube 25, andthen the gun is secured to the top 5 of the table. It is then ready forfiring.

The particular arrangement of the frusto conical:hollow cone M, haspeculiar advantages in avoiding too great an angleojf incidence aide--flected bullets and flying particles on impact with these walls,reducing velocities so that when such bodies encounter the front wall ITa minimum oi erosion occ'urs,-perm itting the relatively thin walls ofthe cone and the base wall I? to attain a life commensurate with that ofthe block 12.

It will be seen that replacement of the block bullet not balanced by theinertia of the block I2 is absorbed with an almost imperceptible degreeof movement of the cone target.

Although, I have described the invention in specific termsit isto beunderstood that numerous changes may bemade inthesize, shape,arrangement and materialswithout departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as claimed herein.

Iclaim: :1. In a testingrange for testing rate of fire I andserviceability of gun actions, a gun support to hold a gun in a desiredfiring position, a bullet-proof bullet-receiving chamber having abullet-receiving port in its front side approximately concentric withthe axis of the bore of a gun in the support, a bullet deflecting bodyhaving a mass greatly in excess of that of the bullet so that a largepart of the kinetic energy of the moving bullet may be readily absorbedby the bullet deflecting body, said mass being efiective at a centralpoint of impact on the body, said body having a forward face inclined tothe said axis, said chamber having side Walls united with said deflectngbody and divergent forwardly, said chamber having also an eccentricallyported forward wall united with the side walls to form a closed chamber,a line central in said chamber normal to said face of the deflectingbody being approximately coincident with said bore axis at said surface,said chamber having an eflluent port for collected bullets, and means tocool the face of the deflecting body.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which means is included to project asheet of water against and across the said face of the deflector body.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which a guiding tube is fixed concentricwith said axis, receiving the muzzle portion of a gun on said support,and extending to and joining said chamber coincident with said bulletreceiving port, means being included to vent gun source gases.

4. As an improved article of manufacture a bullet collector for bulletsfired from a weapon, comprising a chamber having a hollow frustoconicalbody wall, a deflector body united with the smaller end of the said Walland having a forward face normal to the conical axis of the chamber andincluding the entire cross-sectional area of the small end of thefrustum, said body having a mass greatly in excess of that of the bulletso that a large part of the kinetic energy of the moving bullet may bereadily absorbed by the bullet deflecting body, said chamber having aforward wall united with its base throughout the circumference of thelatter, a discharge port being formed adjacent the junction of theconical wall and said front wall at one side of the chamber, said frontWall having a bullet receiving port therein spaced from the conical axisof the chamber opposite the discharge port, and a bullet guiding tubefixed with the front wall surrounding said bullet receiving .port andextending on a line with the incidence of said conical axis and saidforward face of the said deflector body.

RALPH M. FERGUSON.

REFERENCES CITED Name Date Decumbus July 3, 1898 Koehler Feb. 9, 1932Gilson Aug. 29, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Feb. 8,1939 Number Number

